Horse racing will not be happening at Fairplex, pictured June 19 during the L.A. County Fair for the first time in decades. In 1933, pari-mutuel wagering became legal in California and Fairplex’s track became the first in Southern California to have betting. But now, the races are moving to Los Alamitos’ one mile track.
staff file photo

LOS ALAMITOS >> After decades of racing at Fairplex, its thoroughbred meet will be moving to Los Alamitos Race Course.

The California Horse Racing Board on Thursday unanimously approved a proposal by Fairplex and Los Alamitos to move Fairplex Park’s meet to the Orange County track.

Board members, who met at Los Alamitos, voted 5-0 with members Bo Derek and George Krikorian absent.

Starting today, Fairplex and Los Alamitos will be working together to develop cross marketing plans for the meet that will continue to be Fairplex’s but will take place at the Orange County race track, said Brad McKinzie, vice president and spokesman of Los Alamitos Race Course.

Part of the work will include finding a way to keep some stakes races that have a long history at Fairplex, such as the Pomona Derby.

Those stakes races “kind of have a following among horsemen,” McKinzie said.

After the board’s decision on Thursday, Jim Henwood, president and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles County Fair Association, said Fairplex must now submit an application to the Horse Racing Board seeking a license to run the meet and “work on the production of the 2014 (L.A. County) Fair.”

State law requires that racing associations have a license to conduct a race meet, said Mike Marten, spokesman for the Horse Racing Board.

The applications include a number of plans and documents such as marketing plans, agreements with horsemen, labor agreements and security plans, Marten said.

Moving the meet to Los Alamitos is expected to result in higher purses, which will draw more horses and higher profile thoroughbreds, representatives for both racing facilities said during the meeting.

Los Alamitos’ 1 mile track will allow for longer races, up to seven furlongs, than can be run at Fairplex, which has a smaller five-eighths of a mile track, McKinzie said.

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So could horse racing’s newest celebrity, California Chrome, be part of future plans?

“As a matter of fact, that is one of our objectives, to have California Chrome at the Fairplex meet,” McKinzie said.

The dates for the horse racing meet are Sept. 4-23, according to the Fairplex website.

The meet will be known as the Los Angeles County Fair at Los Alamitos, McKinzie said adding that the meet will continue being licensed to the Los Angeles County Fair Association.

“It’s their meet being run at Los Alamitos,” he said.

Representatives of Fairplex and Los Alamitos announced in April they had a plan to move Fairplex Park’s meet to Orange County but it required the approval of the California Horse Racing Board.

A move would be good for racing because recent improvements made at Los Alamitos make it a place that will attract more and higher profile horses.

Fairplex’s facilities are in need of improvements with an estimated cost of about $40 million, an expense the Pomona facility can’t afford.

Fairplex, like much of the horse racing industry, has experienced a decline in attendance at races and bets at the track.

However, it has seen an increase in attendance and wagering at the Finish Line Sports Grill, which offers off-site wagering.

During the meeting, Henwood provided answers to questions the Horse Racing Board had asked when he went before them in April.

Henwood told the Horse Racing Board that state Senate Bill 721 was moving through the legislative process in Sacramento.

“I’m pleased to report it’s on its way to the governor,” he said.

Among the things the legislation does is it makes changes to the state’s horse racing law and authorizes the L.A. County Fair, with the approval of the Horse Racing Board, to “conduct live races at another licensed thoroughbred racing facility in Los Angeles County or the southern zone” including Orange County, the legislation reads.

Also it “allows the Fair to contract for the operation and management of those races.”

Members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors know about the move and have consented to it taking place, Henwood said.

Board Chairman Chuck Winner asked if members of the Board of Supervisors had any comments.

Henwood said he had not received any.

Stabling horses at Los Alamitos will not be a problem, McKinzie said.

Los Alamitos will be able to accommodate horses at its stables, which includes 100 new stables and a large number of temporary stables.

A few smaller horse owners attended the meeting to say they would be affected negatively by moving Fairplex Park’s meet to Los Alamitos.

Holly Beckner said for someone who owns a handful of horses it’s difficult finding space to stable their animals at large tracks and rely on places such as Fairplex.

“This disproportionately will affect a lot of small owners,” she said.

Board members asked about the future of Fairplex Park employees.

McKinzie said representatives of Los Alamitos have met with labor groups representing Fairplex Park employees and appear to be satisfied.

“They will have jobs here,” he said.

Lee Hall, a member of SEIU United Service Workers West, said fellow workers asked him to attend the meeting and asked that the meet’s move be postponed.

“I ask this committee to postpone it as long as (you) can,” he said.

“This is simply an experiment,” he said, adding it’s one that will not work.

But McKinzie disagreed.

In the 1970s, the Orange County Fair Board had been authorized to have fair racing at Los Alamitos.

“It was a huge success,” he said.

Day time racing “was a monumental success;” it was night racing that wasn’t nearly as successful, McKinzie said.

Board member Steve Beneto asked what would happen if years from now Fairplex sought to have racing at their facilities again and McKinzie said that could happen if the Fair Association wishes to do that.